US embassy cable - 05LJUBLJANA840

UNCLAS  LJUBLJANA 000840 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE AND INL/AAE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KCOR, SI 
SUBJECT:  REFERENDUM INITIATIVE KEEPS ANTI-CORRUPTION 
COMMISSION ALIVE 
 
REF: 04 Ljubljana 754 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  A last ditch attempt to call a referendum 
on this issue has delayed the Government's plan to abolish 
Slovenia's independent Anti-Corruption Commission and 
transfer oversight responsibilities for government 
corruption to the parliament.  The Government claims the 
Commission is too costly and ineffective, but enmity between 
the Prime Minister and the head of the Commission is the 
apparent reason for the Government's move.  The threatened 
demise of the Anti-Corruption Commission has alarmed outside 
observers such as Transparency International.  The 
Ambassador has raised our concerns several times with 
Government officials, asserting that the Anti-Corruption 
Commission appears to be working well and that Slovenia must 
have a credible and effective anti-corruption entity.    End 
Summary. 
 
2. (U)  After months of public debate and two readings in 
Parliament of a draft law that would terminate the 
Commission for the Prevention of Corruption headed by Drago 
Kos, the non-parliamentarian Slovene Youth Party (SMS) 
registered its intention with the Parliament on November 20 
to  begin the process for holding a referendum on the 
proposed legislation.  It has thus managed to postpone the 
third reading of the draft law.  SMS now has until January 7 
to collect the 40,000 signatures needed for the referendum 
to take place.  If it fails, the law on Incompatibility of 
Official Position and Profitable Activity will be passed 
early next year.  The anti-Corruption Commission would be 
terminated and many of its functions transferred to a 
parliamentary committee. 
 
3. (U) In mid 2004, the former ruling coalition headed by 
the Liberal Democracy Party (LDS) established the Commission 
for the Prevention of Corruption in part to meet EU 
accession obligations on combating government corruption. 
The Government designed the Commission to develop 
preventative measures against corruption by public officials 
rather than to punish offenders.  Since it took office in 
December 2004, however, the current government led by the 
center-right Slovene Democratic Party (SDS) has cited the 
Commission's lack of "teeth" and costliness as the primary 
rationale for dismantling the organization and transferring 
its public oversight duties to a parliamentary committee. 
Because the Commission was established by law, and the 
commissioners were appointed by the Parliament, it now can 
only be abolished by passage of a new law. 
 
4. (SBU) Public opinion has consistently supported the Anti- 
Corruption Commission, and its director, Drago Kos, is a 
well-known and respected figure in Slovenia.  He is, 
however, a victim of his own past activism in rooting out 
alleged corruption in the Slovene military.  A case dating 
back to 1995 when Kos was part of an anti-corruption squad 
in the Ministry of Interior led to the resignation of then 
Minister of Defense and current Prime Minister Janez Jansa. 
Jansa has since been exonerated of all wrongdoing in the 
case, but forgive and forget has never been Jansa's modus 
operendi.  Once Jansa and SDS formed a government in 
December 2004, Kos knew his days were numbered.  Kos' 
refusal to step down has meant the GOS will have to abolish 
the Commission in order to be rid of him, since there is no 
other legal way to dismiss him from his duties. 
 
5. (U)  The Government's plan to disband the Anti-Corruption 
Commission has concerned many observers, including the NGO 
Transparency International.  The director of Transparency 
International wrote to the Minister of Public Administration 
in early November praising the Commission's achievements in 
enforcing regulations on conflict of interest and 
characterizing the Commission as a model for the region.  He 
questioned the "apparent political and personal reasons" 
behind the move to abolish the Commission. 
 
6. (SBU) Comment:  Post has consistently supported the work 
of the Commission.  The Ambassador signed a Memorandum of 
Understanding on anti-corruption in March 2005 on behalf of 
the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. He has also weighed in 
directly with the Prime Minister on the positive work and 
value of the Commission and underscored that Slovenia must 
have a strong and credible anti-corruption organization. 
The problem is that PM Jansa is intent upon getting rid of 
someone he feels he cannot trust and who is in a sensitive 
position.  The SMS bid to hold a referendum is a last ditch 
effort to keep this Commission alive and Kos as its 
President.  In response to concerns that a Parliamentary 
 
 
Commission in place of the current Commission would be more 
political by its very nature, the PM and others note that 
should not be a problem.  In fact, they point out, all 
information related to asset reporting of politicians will 
be completely transparent and available on the internet. 
 
7. (SBU)  Comment Continued.  The SMS will have to work hard 
to gather the required 40,000 signatures by January 7.  At 
that point, it will also need to have raised sufficient 
awareness of the issue in order to attract Slovene voters to 
yet another referendum.  If the SMS can bring the issue to a 
referendum, and if it can generate enough interest to ensure 
a relatively high turnout at the polls, there is a chance 
that the Commission will survive.  Until and unless a 
referendum is called, it would be premature to make any 
predictions about the outcome of the referendum.  End 
Comment. 
 
Robertson 
 
 
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